CHICAGO — After striking out five times over 15 scoreless innings, Sammy Sosa hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 16th to give the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Pitchers ruled a blustery, 48-degree day at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs setting a team record by striking out 23 times.
Sosa had been 0-for-6 and was getting booed before his one-out single off Ricky Stone (4-1) won it.
Sosa has struck out eight times in 11 at-bats since coming off the disabled list Friday.
Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) got his first major league win with two innings of relief.
The tough conditions set up a pitching duel between Carlos Zambrano and Houston's Roy Oswalt, who was activated from the disabled list before the game.
METS 4, BRAVES 2: At New York, Jae Seo pitched into the ninth inning to win for the first time in more than six weeks and Tsuyoshi Shinjo hit a two-run double to lead New York over Atlanta.
On a rainy day at Shea Stadium, the Mets had their former ace Mike Hampton (2-3) in constant trouble. New York put the leadoff man on base in each of the first five innings and had a runner in scoring position in each of those frames.
PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 3: At St. Louis, Kenny Lofton went 0-for-5 and ended his 26-game hitting streak, but Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis and previously unbeaten Woody Williams.
The Pirates have won five of six, including the first two games of the three-game series. The Cardinals fell to 2-4 on a 13-game homestand, their longest of the season.
MARLINS 3, REDS 2: At Miami, Dontrelle Willis pitched seven strong innings and hit his first major league home run, leading Florida over slumping Cincinnati.
Willis (3-1) allowed one run and five hits while striking out eight.
Willis also came through at the plate, delivering a solo home run off Danny Graves (3-4) to snap a 1-1 tie in the fifth.
GIANTS 2, ROCKIES 1: At San Francisco, rookie Jesse Foppert struck out a career-high eight batters and added an RBI triple for his first major league hit, leading San Francisco over Colorado.
The Giants won their fourth straight to start a 12-game homestand, the team's longest winning streak since getting six consecutive victories from May 3-9.
DODGERS 3, BREWERS : At Los Angeles, Kevin Brown scattered six hits in eight innings to win his sixth straight decision, and Fred McGriff hit the 487th home run of his career as Los Angeles Dodgers beat Milwaukee.